Iran targets Kuwait in retaliation for US bombardments, and other Mideast news

Sirens sounded in Kuwait early Thursday as its air defenses intercepted missiles and drones in what the Defense Ministry called a "blatant Iranian aggression" — Iran's latest move in its retaliation for U.S. bombardments of rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. U.S. allies Bahrain and Jordan said their air defenses also intercepted Iranian attacks the day before.

The exchange is part of a conflict now in its sixth month. Vice President JD Vance told reporters he would not call it a war and said "right now, there is no active shooting," while declining to predict it would be over before November's midterm elections. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below pre-war levels — 102 transits last week versus 126 the week before, and 130 or more per day before the conflict — though oil still moves along a southern route under U.S. guidance.

The same AP report rounds up developments across the region: a funeral was held in southern Iran for four people Iranian state media said were killed when a strike hit a home hosting a wedding, with the toll later put at five, alongside Israeli military operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon and an Israeli official's plan to encourage emigration from Gaza that rights groups warn could amount to a war crime.